EDM and rave culture has seeped into all generations

Heavy bass shook the floor as I walked into the Town Ballroom Monday night.

There were swarms of people walking in and out of the venue, some relaxing outside near the bar and others taking a quick bathroom trip before running back to the dance floor.

I had gone to see Flux Pavilion, a popular electronic music and dance (EDM) artist who was scheduled to play downtown. Tickets were cheap and though it was a Monday, it seemed like a very “you’re only in college once so you may as well enjoy it” opportunity to go spontaneously.

I expected to see a lot of people I know, and I did. I was glad people had the same idea as me – and the same disregard for Tuesday classes – and went into the venue ready to party.

What alarmed me when I stepped onto the dance floor was the range of people who were there.

The man waving his arms around behind me was at least 35 – and that’s being generous.

The girl who was pushing through the crowd to get in front of me couldn’t have been older than 16 – she donned X’s on her hands, had braces and her babyface was intense.

I was a surprised by both sightings. Didn’t this guy have work or something the next day at a real job? Did he have a family at home he was avoiding to party with young adults?

What about this girl – for me, high school started at 7:30 a.m. How was she going to get there that early and last through the day? How did she convince her parents to let her and her friends go out on a Monday night right at the beginning of the school year?

It was strange that the two people I saw, the older man and the young girl, were there, but it was stranger to see that they were going hard. They looked like they were having more fun than I was and I love to dance.

About halfway through the show, I had a realization – EDM culture has seeped into other generations, both younger and older. It is no longer millennial music. Rather, it’s a genre that can be enjoyed by anyone who likes a heavy bass or an upbeat tempo.

Rave culture isn’t just something for young adults – it’s just a group of people who like the same music.

Of course, it was mostly millennial-aged attendees wearing fuzzy boots, neon shorts and psychedelic tees, but that doesn’t take away from the variety of people there who respect the “PLUR” motto - Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. It applied to everyone, whether they were wearing colored bracelets or not.

This motto and ideology is prevalent in festival culture, where attendees can see many artists during a span of a few days. People often camp out overnight, and make a weekend of the event.

The most recent EDM event, TomorrowWorld, saw some issues with their planning – inclement weather lead to the cancellation of the last day. Though many were upset and frustrated over the lack of planning and unorganized shutdown, the PLUR motto was held strong and everyone banded together to help each other.

It doesn’t matter what age you are – there’s a culture around EDM music, and everyone who believes in PLUR should be able to celebrate it.